After attending the seminar, one of our students, LL.B 2 Years Program, Dr .Borhan U. Ahamed, Assistant professor of Forensic Medicine, Dhaka Community Medical College, discussed with me about the seminar topic. I told him as a special participator & with the back ground of Forensic Medicine, to mail me the brief of the seminar topic so that I can share it with the people who could not get the opportunity to attend the seminar. Today I’ve received his mail. Without changing single word, I’m copying the write up for the forum people.Farhana Helal MehtabHead, Law
Observance on Seminar in DIU Organized By the Department Of Law
"30th June 2013 was a day full of valuable experiences of my new carrier life of medical lawyer. I actually want to be so in future but I know a long way to be gone with lot of struggles. Lets introduce myself I passed MBBS from Sir sallimullah medical college and complete my post graduation in forensic medicine from Dhaka medical college and I am working in a private medical college in Dhaka as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Forensic Medicine. With the view to become a medical lawyer I was wondering where to start but I don’t see any light to build up my carrier from any corner. At last I got myself admitted in LLB in daffodil international university with a hope that this reputed university will show me the way to my goal and gradually my hope is glowing with lot of opportunities that is provided by my university DIU.
I was invited by one of my tutor of LLB class to attend a seminar regarding forensic profiling of a medico legal case held in main campus of DIU at Dhanmondi. I tried my best to attend in time but as I live in Uttara and before going to seminar I had to attend my department that made me little late but I managed lastly to be in the seminar room when it was just started. There was a wonderful virtual back screen with the topic of the day—suicide or murder-a forensic profiling of hanging.
I smiled thinking what is going to be discussed and what expert opinion can be drown by whom as in the panel of speaker there were no forensic expert from our department of forensic medicine. The chief guest was a reputed person known to all as fabulous speaker one of important Member of Parliament of Bangladesh Mr. Golam Maula Rony. It’s been a good opportunity t o get him in direct contract to interact regarding a sensitive issue but unfortunately he was not available on the interactive session. Any way other people with honor and dignifying position were there to have a present interactive session. The honorable chief presenter though was a person from department of law of DU delivered a nice fruitful knowledgeable and informative pictorial discussion on hanging that make me very appreciated on the theme of that day.
Short focus on the session
Hanging was defined as complete or partial suspension of the body by a ligature around the neck in which entrance of air into the lung is prevented by constriction on the neck, the constricting force being the weight of the body hanged. Death brought about by
Asphyxia or Apoplexy & cerebral anoxia or both Asphyxia & Apoplexy combined or Vagal inhibition leading to cardiac arrest or Due to injury to the spinal cord as observed in judicial hanging wherein death is due to fracture-dislocation of the C-2 C-3 C-4 vertebrae and was classified as Complete hanging- both feet are above the ground or the platform, Partial hanging- both feet are touching the ground. It may be also induced in sitting, stooping, kneeling, lying prone or supine position or Typical hanging- knot of ligature is on the back side of the neck and Atypical hanging- knot of the ligature is anywhere other than on the backside of the neck. Mechanism of Hanging was described like that if pressure is given on the neck there develops asphyxia due to occlusion of respiratory passages. It is proved on experiment that pressure of three and half to five Kg weight on the neck can occlude jugular vein & carotid arteries, 15 Kg can occlude trachea and 16 Kg can occlude vertebral arteries. All of these cause decrease of cerebral blood flow leading to anoxia to the brain & death.
Postmortem Findings (External) were discussed under the heading of Findings in the face , Findings in the neck, Findings in other parts of the body. Special emphasis was given to the ligature material used and the features develop with different ligature materials,
Findings in the neck:
Ligature mark of hanging is characteristic and is oblique, non continuous & high up- Usually above the thyroid cartilage 80%, at the level of thyroid cartilage 15% & below the level of it 05%.The typical ligature mark runs obliquely, backwards & upwards towards the point of suspension, skin at the site is depressed, pale, dry, hard may be with small abrasion at the margins called rope burns, sometimes looks like a double ligature when soft material used having two folds, also it may not be visible.
Medico legal importance of Hanging were
Hanging is always suicidal unless otherwise proved and Partial Hanging is more in favor of suicide than the complete hanging.
Homicidal is very rare, however suspected if the following findings are observed: knot of the ligature is exactly on the back of the neck, mouth is gagged, hands are tied & several injuries on the body.
Accidental hanging is very much rare but may be recorded among the infants, children, adolescent and adult, cord around the neck, while playing, in sexual asphyxia during masochistic practice.
Postmortem Hanging
Hanging could be postmortem one with a view to conceal & mislead a case of homicidal hanging as suicidal hanging or hanging the body after death due to other natural or unnatural cause
Difficulties in Diagnosis of Death from Hanging
Victim may killed by strangulation first & then hanged & +ve self inflicted injury
Presence of two ligature marks owing to slipping of the ligature in the neck
Due to presence of nail marks on the neck which may look like a death by throttling
Faint ligature mark & the mark resist putrefaction.
In the interactive session the medico legal investigation system of Bangladesh was discussed with a conclusion that we need to develop our knowledge and we need a lot of expert professionals with logistic support in the field of forensic science and we need more cooperation and coordination among the forensic doctors ,police department, lawyers and the legal enforcement department."
